Every so often being an employee at Gorges State Park pays off in a big way. Today was one of those days. Although I had been working at the park for nearly a year I had yet to set foot on the Foothills Trail which crosses the remote southern reaches of the park. By foot, the way most people have to access it, it takes a minimum 5-mile walk to reach it and the spot I'd be visiting this day would take closer to 8-miles!

Fortunately for me some work needed to be done along the remote, so-called Cow Trail which links the Auger Hole Trail at Turkeypen Gap to the Foothills Trail a couple miles south. This allowed me to drive within a mile or so of the Foothills Trail and, on my lunch break, make the quick walk down for a look around. The day was grey but I wasn't complaining, it was a rare opportunity to visit a less-frequented part of the park with minimal effort. Come on along for a look at a corner of Gorges State Park that few people have the opportunity to see...

The Chestnut Mountain Road actually marks the boundary between Gorges State Park to the east and North Carolina Game Lands to the west so heading down the occasional tree to your left is marked like this...

Turkeypen Gap, with the Chestnut Mountain Road dropping in across the way and curving away down the mountain to the left. The Auger Hole Trail heads to the right as it drops away to the east and eventually, 7.5 miles away reaches the western boundary of the park at Frozen Creek Access.

From here I'd continue driving south (which you can't do unless you're lucky enough to be a park employee like me!) along what is known as the Cow Trail, which acts as an extension of the Auger Hole Trail providing a connector to the Foothills Trail a couple miles south...

Spring was more and more evident down at these elevations (I had descended from about 3,000' to about 2,000' here) so there was a bit more wildflower variety. If I hadn't been driving so slowly I may have missed this one...the unassuming Sessile Bellwort...

These pretty little guys are supposedly rare in the mountains...everywhere I suppose but Gorges State Park! Aside from the plentiful violet, these Spring Dwarf Iris's, were probably the second most plentiful wildflower I spotted this day...

The panorama that opened up upon my arrival at the manway was far more impressive than I expected. Despite the obvious eyesore of the power lines (without which there wouldn't be a view, I hate to admit) the spring greens washing over the hills and ridges surrounding me was exhilarating...

Peering down the Foothills Trail east, into Gorges State Park. From here the trail meanders along the southern periphery for 7 miles or so before re-entering South Carolina and continuing on another 27 miles to its eastern terminus at Table Rock State Park, SC.

Although I cheated a bit to get down here I was long overdue to visit this corner of our park, so no complaints...next time I'm here hopefully I'll do it the legitimate way. For now though this will certainly do...